[BreachExchange] Two local hospitals become latest targets of cyber attacks

[Destry Winant]

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/two-local-hospitals-become-latest-targets-of-cyber-attacks

Two Southwestern Ontario hospitals, connected by shared
infrastructure, were struck Thursday by cyber attacks, the latest in a
string of similar incursions in the area this week.

The Listowel Wingham Hospitals Alliance, which oversees the Listowel
and Wingham hospitals, confirmed Thursday it was experiencing network
issues as a result of what appears to be a cyber attack.

Karl Ellis, the hospital president and CEO, said the issues began
Wednesday night and were uncovered during regular monitoring.

As a precautionary measure, the hospital has take its networks offline
while both police and third-party tech experts work to determine the
nature of the issue, Ellis said.

Ellis said there is no indication that patient records were
compromised but also said the hospitals have not received a demand for
payment, as is common in ransomware attacks.

Ransomware is a type of malicious computer program that denies access
to the system or its data until a ransom is paid. If that ransom is
paid, the hacker then provides a key or password that unlocks the
data.

The apparent cyber attack is affecting both hospitals, Ellis said, as
there is shared infrastructure between the two facilities.

The City of Woodstock is facing its own cyber attack, which began on
Saturday morning. Woodstock police also said they were attacked early
Monday. Neither attack had been completely resolved as of Thursday
afternoon.

Stratford city hall was the target of a ransomware attack in April
and, last week, officials acknowledged they paid about $75,000 in
Bitcoin, a digital currency, for the hacker to back off.